When I opened my eyes, I looked up at the face of the Queen, who held me in her arms. Looking around, I saw the King stood beside her and Mike and a few attendants stood a distance away.
I looked back at the Queen, who still hadn't let go of me.
"My dear, Ariella! I missed you so much! I am so relieved to finally have you back in my arms."
Then, without another word, she gave me a big hug. I didn't hug her back, partly because I was in shock, partly because she hugged me so tightly that I couldn't move.
"Do…do you really believe I am your daughter?", I asked timidly.
She smiled warmly at me. "Dr. Clark believes you are, and I trust his judgement. Many hundreds of young women came saying they were the princess. But none got past both Ms. Margaret and Dr. Clark."
She paused and looked at me meaningfully. "None, that is except you, my dear. And the moment I saw you, I felt the most maternal instinct. A mother never forgets her children. I know, without a doubt that you are my baby."
I blinked. Somehow, I felt very surprized that the Queen would be this affectionate and loving towards me. I almost expected her to denounce me and declare that the doctor had it wrong all along.
"Um…excuse me, Queen Mother, does the King feel the same? He looks quite stern.", I asked her in a whisper.
She glanced at the King as if we were not speaking of the same person.
"Of course, he does! He may be a very serious man, but he cares deeply for his family."
I said nothing to this.
"Come, my darling.", the Queen said as we both got to our feet. "Let's get you all freshened up before you meet the rest of your family. Everyone will be joining us for dinner."
I gulped. 'Everyone?', I thought.
One of the attendants walked forward, the other went to the door.
"The maids have been called for, your majesty.", he said to the Queen with a bow.
"Very good,", she said to him. "Mike.", she said turning to my instructor. "One of the manservants will show you to a room. A good supper will be sent up from the kitchen."
Then, the attendant returned from the doorway. Dr. Clark was thanked again and dismissed for the night. And a group of maids and ladies-in-waiting entered the room.
I noticed the maids walked silently, while the ladies-in-waiting whispered and giggled amongst each other. All stopped short of the King and Queen and curtsied.
"I see you have things well in hand, my love.", the King said to his wife. "So, I will leave and make sure my sons make it here and on time."
The King exited and Mike was escorted out as well. The maids were given instructions and the ladies-in-waiting surrounded me, looking me over and making suggestions on how to style my hair and what colours would look best on me.
"Now, now, ladies.", said the Queen, "Enough of that. Let us take Princess Ariella de Nova upstairs and get her properly attired for dinner."
"Yes, Queen Maria.", chorused the ladies-in-waiting, taking a few steps away from me and proceeding towards the door in an orderly fashion.
The Queen took my arm and interlinked it with hers. Then we joined the end of the procession out the door, through the hallway, up the elegant stairway, along another hall and into a suite of rooms.
We went through the parlour room of the suite and into a large bathroom. The Queen seated herself on a daybed in the parlour.
One lady drew me a bath, while others rushed to gather clothing, fetch toiletries, fresh towels, makeup, hair styling tools, and jewellery.
Against the protests I made for my own independence, my hair was combed out, styled and decorated, my face washed, cremes applied and made up, and my body dressed in clothes that were chosen for me.
I was led to stand in front of a full-length mirror. While the ladies made much fuss over me, I inwardly sighed. To myself, I did not look like me.
From the dress, the hairstyle, jewellery, and makeup; it was all too much. I had the urge to wipe at my face.
'Too much eye shadow.', I thought. But I did not say so.
"What do you think?", asked one of the ladies, leaning towards me so she could speak softly in my ear.
"I…I'm not so sure of this.", I told her earnestly. "It's very different from my normal look. Too different, maybe."
She patted my shoulder lightly. "Don't worry, Princess! You look lovely! It'll take time to get used to the change, is all."
"Don't forget the jewellery set!", another lady gushed.
A third lady-in-waiting swiftly came to me holding a large, velvet covered wooden box.
Once opened, the box revealed a set with matching necklace, cuff and earrings. The large stones were set in the purest silver, hand crafted, and stones cut to show off their brilliance.
I could guess that they were small blue tourmaline stones, offsetting the grandeur of the rare yellow and pink diamonds.
In spite of myself, I let out a gasp at the sight of them. I knew the craftmanship, care, and worth of them.
They were almost too much to believe. I could hardly imagine such stones to be real, yet in the home of the King and Queen, there was no way they could be anything but.
As I reached forward to touch one of the earrings to see if it was real, or if I was only dreaming, a lady-in-waiting urged me to put it on. I looked at her and she smiled encouragingly.
As I put the earrings on one lady fastened the necklace around my throat and another slid the cuff onto my arm the instant, I moved my hand from my ear.
I slipped my feet into some flats that were brought for me as one of the ladies said excitedly, "She's ready."
While I wondered what, exactly, I was ready for, I was ushered along into the large sitting room where Queen Maria still lounged on the daybed.